Machine for rubbing hats



April 11, 1939. v. Bow

MACHINE FOR RUBBING HATS Filed Aug. 1, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN VE:TOR Va/r orBo/um ATTORNEY April 11, V g

MACHINE FOR RUBBING HAT.

Filed Aug. 1, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Vkia ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 11, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application August 1, 1936, Serial No. 93,756 In Austria February 21, 1936 7 Claims.

This invention relates generally to machines for treating hats.

Machines for treating the surfaces of felt hats are known, including machines for grinding,

- pumice-stoning, rubbing and smoothing hats.

In the case of these known machines for treating the surfaces of hats, the hat is treated upon a hat block revolving relatively to a grinding or rubbing body or the like, the hat to be treated being stretched upon this block, and the grinding or rubbing pad executing a reciprocating working movement, usually moving in a: closed path, which may for instance be circular or elliptical. Now the object of the present invention is to provide a machine for rubbing or pouncing, friezing or similarly treating hat bodies, hats, felts, felted cloth and the like, wherein the rubbing or pouncing body or the like, which is preferably made as a plane pad, co-operates with a revolving roller, which constitutes the support for the hat body or the like.

The preferred form of construction of the apparatus is one in which there is imparted to the rubbing or pouncing body, in relation to the revolving roller, a workingmovement of its own in a plane tangential to the roller, preferably in a closed working path, more particularly a circular, elliptical or like path, this movement being executed withsuch a velocity that the hat body or like workpiece can remain resting upon the support by virtue of its inertia during the treatment.

The rubbing or pouncing implement cooperates with a revolving abutment, which abutment is so driven that the direction and speed of its movement areindependent of the direction and speed of the rubbing implement. This revolving abutment constitutes the support for the felt work-piece and it imparts to the work-piece a movement under the rubbing implement. The abutment also is different in form from the workpiece to be treated and is of such a small size that only the portion of the work-piece that is at the moment undergoing treatment bears upon the abutment, while the remainder of the workpiece hangs free and loose so that the work-piecein different positions on itssupport.

at a time, use can be made of a movement of the tool in a closed path in a plane tangential to the hat surface, without a special guide for the tool being necessary, whereby a considerable simplification of the construction of such ma- 5 chines is obtained, as well as a diminution of the moving masses, and whereby quite a considerable increase in the working speed is rendered possible.

The driving arrangement according to the invention is such that the rubbing body is driven, preferably without intermediate members, by means of a revolving eccentric, and is guided so as to avoid a rotation around its own axis, e. g. by a rectilinear guide, so that the speed of revo- 15 lution can be raised very high by avoiding large moving masses. The driving arrangement according to the invention is such that the implement can be driven at various speeds.

According to a further feature of the invention the machine may be provided with a pedal, by which the roller ismoved against the rubbing or like body, the engaging movement preferably only being initiated by means of the pedal, and being completed by the action of a weight, a spring or the like, so that the application pressure is independent of the load on the pedal.

The rubbing or like body is in the form of a cushion or pad of resiliently yielding material, such as India rubber or the like and is. advan- 30 tageous in that the India rubber or the like may be provided with a suitable coating, for instance a coating of sand paper in the case of a rubbing body, the nature of the action being affected by the selection of the coating. Such a pad, consisting of India rubber or like yielding material, has a compensating or equalizing efiect when the pad is not working exactly in a plane tangential to the supporting roller.

Fig. 1 is a side view of a machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the pouncing pad shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the pouncing pad.

Fig. 4 is a detail View showing means for preventing the pad from revolving.

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing a modified form of hat support.

Figs. 6 and 7 are detail views showinga'hat Figure 1 shows an apparatus for the pouncing or like treatment of hat bodies, hats or the like. The implement, in this case a pouncing pad l, is movably supported by an inclined arm 2 of a frame 3, being directly mounted on an eccentric" 4, which causes the working movement of the rubbing pad I. This eccentric 4 is driven by an electric motor 5 mounted on the frame 3, the speed of the working movement being regulated by means of a step pulley 6, mounted upon the shaft of the motor 5.

, In order to prevent the grinding pad I from rotating with the eccentric 4, the pad I is guided against the machine frame or against the arm 2 thereof. In the constructional example illustrated in the drawings, the straight line guidance is effected in such a way that the grinding pad is made with an arm I, the end of which is pivoted, through the medium of a link 8, to the inclined arm 2 of the machine frame, as shown in Figure 2. The joints of this link 8 are preferably made so strong that they can support the part of the application pressure of the rubbing pad I that acts upon them, which, on account of the nearness of the pad to the eccentric 4, is very small, so that special supporting means of the pad against the arm 2 of the machine frame 3 may be omitted, which is advantageous in view of the high working speed of the rubbing pad. Of course the rubbing pad may be guided in some other suitable manner. Thus for example in Figure 4 an arrangement is shown in which the rubbing pad I is centrally mounted upon the eccentric 4, the entire working pressure being taken up by the eccentric 4. In order to prevent the pad from being carried round as the eccentric 4 revolves in the direction of the arrow, the pad is held firmly in position by tension springs 9.

In Figures 2 and 3 an advantageous form of construction of the rubbing pad is illustrated. The rubbing pad I is coated with a covering of sand paper Ill, which is wound upon spools II, and extends over the working surface of the pad. Owing to the fact that a fairly long strip of sand paper is wound upon the spools II, it is possible for a fresh and unused part of the sand paper to be presented to the workpiece as the paper becomes worn. Owing to a resilient or yielding support I2 of India rubber or the like underneath the sand paper, the result is obtained that the implement can adapt itself to the shape of the workpiece. The workpiece, which may be a hat body, a hat or the like is placed upon a roller I3 in an unclamped position. As will be seen from Fig. 1, the roller I3 is of a shape different from the work-piece and is of such a small size compared to the hat that only a small portion of the work-piece or hat is engaged thereby, the remainder hanging loose and free. The workpiece is pressed by said roller I3 against the rubbing pad, and is thus kept in the position requisite for the treatment. This roller I3 at the same time effects the transport of the workpiece past the rubbing pad I or like implement, and is positively driven through the medium of a driving pulley I4, a flexible shaft I5 and bevel gear I6. In order to ensure the workpiece rotating with the roller, the latter is made with a coating II, of India rubber, felt or the like, to increase the friction. The roller is mounted upon an arm I9, which is rockable about a pivot I8, and which is so shaped that it does not hamper the workpiece,'as illustrated in Figures 1 and 5. The force with which the roller is pressed against the implement can be regulated by varying the loading, for instance by sliding a weight 2| along the lever 20 of the arm I9.

Such a revolving roller I3, as a support for the hat body to be treated, has the advantage that by the rotation of the roller there is imparted to the hat body also a movement relative to the rubbing body that is treating it, and the hat body can thereby be progressively advanced in relation to the rubbing body, as is requisite for the treatment of the entire surface of the body. Such a roller also has the advantage that it is independent of the shape and size of the hat body, whereby a device is provided which is independent of the shape and size of the hat under treatment, and which can therefore serve in the same manner for the treatment of bodies of the most varied shapes, including felts, felted cloths and the like, as well as for the treatment of hats.

For the rocking of the arm I9, with the roller I3, into the working position, there is provided a foot lever 22, which is loaded by a weight 25, and which is so connected by a chain 23 with the arm I9 that the weight 25, in the idle position of the pedal 22, rocksthe arm I9 backwards, lifting the roller I3 off the rubbing pad I, against the action of the weight 2I, whereas when the pedal 22 is depressed, the chain 23 is relaxed, and the weight 2I rocks the arm I9 into the working position, and the roller I3 presses the I workpiece against the rubbing pad.

The roller I3 may be made with broken or even rounded edges, and may be so small as to enable curved surface elements to be treated upon the apparatus, such for example as the tops of hats.

For the treatment of plane surfaces such as the rim portions of hats, a conical roller 26, as illustrated in Figure 5, may be employed, the rubbing pad I, executing a movement in a plane tangential to the peripheral surface of the roller. a conical roller has the advantage, in the treatment of hats or the like with a flat brim for example, of rendering possible to more exactly convey the workpiece past the rubbing pad I, particularly when the apex of the cone that generates the periphery of the roller is located at about the centre of the hat.

The device is so designed as to render it pos sible, when the resilient surface of the rubbing pad has become uneven or when the frictional coating of the roller has ceased to be truly circular, to cause the rubbing pad and the roller to co-operate in such a manner, through the medium of a grinding means, that these members become respectively plane and circular again.

What I claim is:

l. A machine for treating the surface of felt hats and the like characterized by a rubbing implement adapted to cooperate with a revoluble and movable hat supporting abutment, means for positively driving said abutment being movable in a direction and with a velocity different from the rubbing implement and imparting to the hat a movement beneath the rubbing implement, said abutment being of a shape different from that of the hat being treated, and being of a size that only the portion of the hat being subjected to treatment is engaged thereby, the remaining portion of the hat hanging free and loose so that any desired part of the hat can be brought underneath the rubbing implement without regard to its external shape and can be rubbed with a stronger or lesser pressure in different places as required and means for moving the rubbing implement bodily in a plane substantially tangent to the supporting surface of the supporting abutment and in a curved path.

2. A machine for treating the surface of hats as claimed in claim 1 characterized by a rubbing implement having a flat body movable in a closed Such path in a plane tangential to the supporting abutment with a speed greater than that of the abutment.

3. A machine for treating the surface of hats as claimed in claim 1 characterized by a rubbing implement having a pad of resilient material and movable in a closed curved path at such a speed that the hat does not participate in its movement.

4. A pouncing machine for treating the surface of a felt work-piece such as a hat characterized by a rubbing implement movable bodily in a closed elliptical or like path, a revolving abutment cooperating with said rubbing implement, said abutment being so driven that the direction and speed of its movement are independent of the direction and speed of the movement of the rubbing implement, said abutment constituting the support of the work-piece and imparting thereto a movement under the rubbing implement, said abutment being different in form from the work-piece and being so small that only the portion of the work-piece that is at the moment undergoing treatment bears upon the abutment while the remainder of the work-piece hangs free and loose whereby the work-piece can be displaced upon the abutment at will during the treatment and brought underneath the rubbing implement at any desired point regardless of its external shape, even at curved places, thus enabling the brim and crown of the hat to be treated upon the same machine.

5. A pouncing machine for treating the surface of a felt work-piece as claimed in claim 4 characterized by the feature that the rubbing implement comprises a pad of resilient material formed of India rubber and moves in its closed path at such a speed that the work-piece does not participate in this movement.

6. A pouncing machine for treating the sur face of a felt work-piece as claimed in claim 4 characterized by the feature that the supporting abutment is a cylindrical roller.

7. A pouncing machine for treating the surface of a felt work-piece comprising a roller support for the work-piece, a positive drive for said roller, a rubbing pad, mechanism for moving said pad in a non-reciprocating manner in a fixed path, said pad and roller support being so arranged relatively when in operative positions that the portion of the work-piece engaged directly by the support and proposed to be treated is positioned at a point on a tangent defined by the path of movement of the pad, said pad and support being driven at such speeds that the work-piece creeps between the roller and pad during the movements of said pad and support.

VIKTOR BoHM.

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